After nearly 5 months of a Russian military offensive and siege, Avdiivka, a strategic city in the Donbas region, is reportedly about to fall.
This information comes not from Russian sources but, on the contrary, from Ukrainian Telegram sources that are being picked up by MSM with an unprecedented degree of candor.
The situation now sees Russian troops entering the town from the north and the south, as well as attacking in multiple other axis, overextending the outgunned and outmanned Kiev regime defenses.
Since October, Russia is gunning for the settlement that is considered to be a ‘gateway’ to nearby Russian-occupied Donetsk city,
It’s a pivotal step in the Kremlin’s objective to gain control of the entire Donbas region.
A Ukrainian Bradley tank hits a mine and is destroyed in the streets of Avdiivka. pic.twitter.com/dUkGhgXnVC
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) February 6, 2024
Newsweek reported:
“Russian troops are making gains towards Avdiivka, posing a ‘critical’ situation for Kiev’s forces, Ukrainian Telegram channels have warned, amid the prospect the Donetsk town could be the first settlement captured by Moscow in eight months.”
As usual, the report brings very wrong pro-Ukraine facts, since Russia has conquered many settlements since Bakhmut in May: in August a mandatory evacuation was held of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages in the eastern Kharkov region. In November, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of Artemovskoye (Khromove) in the Donetsk region.
And of course, in December, Maryinka: Russian Forces Take Heavily Fortified Town of Maryinka in Biggest Triumph Since Bakhmut
Ukrainian troops inside Avdiivka are not faring well. pic.twitter.com/iC1deZJEas
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) February 6, 2024
Another pro-Kiev cope is to say that Russian forces are facing unprecedented, apocalyptic losses in the Avdiivka campaign.
Sure enough, in this war, the side that is attacking is more exposed than the one holed up in fortifications.
Having said that, pro-Ukraine organization Mediazona is tracking Russian losses, and the trend is clearly diminishing, NOT increasing – as Ukrainians have fewer and fewer artillery shells to fire.
“The Telegram channel Ukraine Fights posted on Sunday that ‘the situation in the city has become critical’, adding that Russian attack aircraft had entered the city from the northeast and Russian troops had bypassed Ukrainian battle formations and gained a foothold in the buildings.
‘This means that they are hundreds of meters away from the main logistical artery of the Ukrainian defenders’, the post said, according to a translation. ‘The fate of Avdiivka is being decided’.”
Pro-Ukrainian Journalist, Senior Editor Security Policy and Conflicts at German Paper BILD, Julian Röpke, posted on X:
Good example of what I mean: Russians are placing mines within the captured quarters of Avdiivka. And Ukrainians (the 47th Mechanized Brigade) are losing another Bradley INSIDE the town. Fighting conditions were much better around Stepove. Everything looks like Bakhmut 2.0 now. pic.twitter.com/wKv9rMjIfM
— Julian Röpcke (@JulianRoepcke) February 6, 2024
Telegram channels detail street battles in the northern outskirts of Avdiivka, where Russian troops entrenched themselves ‘less than a mile from the entrance to the town’.
Leon Hartwell, senior associate, London School of Economics: “The loss of Avdiivka would limit Ukraine’s ability to launch counteroffensive operations against Russia in Donbas, and reclaiming the city, given its formidable fortifications, would pose an exceptionally challenging task.”
“‘Russia has invested heavily in the capture of Avdiivka, deploying scores of soldiers and military equipment to the city’, he said. ‘The seizure of Avdiivka holds significant political importance for Putin, driven by the urgent need to showcase victories for Russia ahead of the presidential election[…].”
Pro-Russian Analyst and news aggregator Simplicius the Thinker reported:
“What happened first was Russian forces collapsed the entire area of the “northern shore” of that lagoon / sand quarry.
{…] But that wasn’t even the half of it. Russian forces continued to push both southeast past the quarry and west into the city proper.
[…] This means that Ukrainian forces are in danger of now being entirely cut off from their supply routes, which means Avdiivka is, on paper, almost finished.”
Russian artillery works on Ukraine defenses in Avdiivka. pic.twitter.com/HSj4sVbzrx
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) February 6, 2024
What is also important is to know who is there defending the seemingly-doomed town: Ukraine reportedly sent dozens of its most elite battalions to try and hold off Russia’s advances.
“As some may have heard, Ukraine has sent all its most elite units to try and staunch the collapse, which is why yesterday we saw a glimpse of the first ever M1 Abrams finally appearing near action on what is alleged to be the Avdiivka front.”
Read more:
